Jersey Dems Want to Raise Taxes on the Wealthy

New Jersey Democrats are responding to Chris Christie’s plan to balance the state budget by lowering pension payments to state workers with a counter-proposal: Raise taxes on the rich, instead.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), who staked his political future on a controversial pension reform three years ago, yesterday announced that Senate Democrats would introduce their own budget to fully fund the state’s pension obligation by increasing taxes on the wealthy and on corporations.

“The governor talks about the need to have an adult in the room? Well, there is a Plan B,” Sweeney said, taking a swipe at Christie’s insistence that he cannot plug the state’s two-year budget gap without cutting pension payments by $900 million this year and $1.5 billion next year.

Christie, however, has vetoed a so-called “millionaire’s tax” three times, and is thought likely to do again. (NJ Spotlight)